Imus Ranch

The Imus Ranch is a working cattle ranch of nearly 4,000 acres (16 km²) located in Ribera, New Mexico, 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Santa Fe.[1] It was founded in 1999 by long-time radio personality Don Imus and his wife Deirdre as a charitable organization that seeks to ensure the continuity of the lives of children who are afflicted with cancer or serious blood diseases.[1] The charity’s goal is to provide children ages 10–17 with an experience of living life on a functioning cattle ranch free of charge, to build up the child's self-confidence and sense of accomplishment, in the company of similar children facing serious illness.[2] More recently, it has also opened to siblings of SIDS victims. It is incorporated in the State of New York and registered under subsection 501(c)(3) of the United StatesInternal Revenue Code as a non-profit organization. It closed following the 2014 season and was offered for sale for $32 million in October, 2014.

Contents

The ranch consists of a village of eight buildings constructed to emulate an Old West town, including a general store, a "marshal's office", and a "saloon" (in reality, an infirmary where the young guests receive their medications at the saloon's "bar").[2] The main ranch house is a 14,000 sq ft (1,300 m2) adobehacienda with American Indian rugs and rustic chandeliers in the great room. It has five bedrooms for the ten children who attend each week in the summer, a library, and a dining hall serving all vegetarian meals. The design was largely under the direction of Deirdre Imus at a cost of construction placed at more than $25 million.[2]

There are bunk houses for doctors, other medical staff and ranch hands. The Hackensack University Medical Center provides physicians, nurses, and guidance counselors who attend the ranch sessions.

For seven days, each child is expected to perform chores and tasks as if they were a cowboy, such as caring for all the needs of a horse to gain self-esteem. The ranch operates all year but hosts children only when school is not in session, during eight one-week sessions. Nearly half the children are from minority groups and 10% are black.[3]

During the typical day, the children do chores beginning early in the morning, feeding the various ranch animals, watering plants, gathering eggs, and saddling horses for a two-hour ride led by the Imuses. Recreation includes swimming, board games, and pool. In a concession to the serious health needs of the campers, the ranch also has qualified personnel present to treat medical needs.[2]

During the summer months, Imus broadcasts his nationally syndicated radio program, Imus in the Morning, from a studio at the Ranch. Occasionally, children attending the Ranch appear on the program along with his wife Deirdre and son, Wyatt.

Imus, who was raised on an Arizona ranch as a youngster, became interested in helping children stricken with cancer after he participated in a New York radio telethon in 1988, raising money for a charity assisting such children.[2] After his marriage to Deirdre Coleman in 1994, the couple decided to build a western ranch where cancer-stricken children could regain their self-esteem, by engaging in authentic ranch work. Deirdre Imus said in an American Profile magazine interview: "After working with these kids, we noticed a common theme: they had cancer but they were like normal kids, except they lost their self-esteem. We found no one was actually restoring their self-esteem or dignity."[2]

Initially, the Imuses used more than $1 million of their money to purchase 810 acres (3.3 km2) for the ranch in 1998. The ranch cost almost $25 million to construct, raised through a public foundation they established. The ranch now costs $1.8 million annually to operate.[2]

Numerous large corporations donate significantly to the Ranch. Major donors have included Reader's Digest, for which the Ranch’s “locale” has been named, Unilever, and Wrangler Jeans, among others. General Motors donates vehicles for use on the ranch.[5] Buildings at the Ranch have been named for major corporate donors.

Each spring beginning in 1990, WFAN conducted the WFAN Radiothon to benefit children's causes. The Radiothon is now conducted on WABC radio in New York. As of 2005, the Radiothon raised more than $30 million for the Ranch along with Tomorrows Children's Fund and The CJ Foundation for SIDS.

On his September 9, 2014, broadcast, Imus announced the discontinuation of the ranch program, after 16 years of operation, due to his "health and other issues". The property will be sold, he said, with proceeds from the sale going to a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation. In October, 2014, the ranch was offered for sale with an asking price of $32 million.[9]